In September, the Top 3 categories by number of actively advertised apps were Casual, Puzzle, and Casino, with Casino once again recording the highest share of newly advertised apps at 36.89%.
By ad volume, the Top 3 categories were Puzzle, Casual, and Simulation, which also ranked as the Top 3 by number of deduplicated creative assets, indicating that creative testing and iteration remained highly active across these genres.
From a creative format perspective, video continued to dominate overseas mobile game advertising, accounting for 71.93% of total creatives, while image ads rose slightly to 20.85% compared to the previous month.
In terms of video duration, 16–30 second creatives remained the mainstream format, though their share declined further to 35.1%. Meanwhile, both short-form videos under 15 seconds and 46–60 second videos saw notable increases, reaching 20.08% and 20.45%, respectively.
01. Top Mobile Game Developers & Mobile Games
According to AppGrowing, the Top 3 developers by advertising activity in September were again Oakever Games, Hungry Studio, and Voodoo. Overall, the developer ranking remained largely stable, with most top advertisers being familiar names, reflecting a steady competitive landscape at the top of the market.
One developer worth highlighting this month is 美玲 陆. Compared to August, this Chinese developer significantly ramped up its advertising investment in September, jumping from No.16 to No.8 in the developer ranking. Its primary advertised titles span the Puzzle and Casual categories, with Tricky Puzzle 2: Brain Test ranking first by ad volume. The developer has also shown awareness of trending gameplay formats, recently launching a new Sudoku title, Dogdoku, which appears to be a direct competitor to Oakever Games' Meowdoku!.
On the product side, Meowdoku! by Oakever Games recorded 16.52% MoM growth in ad volume, entering the Top 3 of the product ranking for the first time. According to data from Sensor Tower and other platforms, the game has seen sustained growth in downloads and has consistently ranked among the Top 3 on the US iOS Free Chart, making it one of the hottest casual mobile games in overseas markets right now.
Doomsday, IGG's post-apocalyptic survival SLG, posted 28.73% MoM growth in ad volume, pushing it into the Top 10 of the product ranking. IGG has been leveraging IP collaborations as a key long-term strategy for Doomsday, having partnered with franchises including Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Pacific Rim, and Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 since 2025. In September, the game launched a new collaboration with the popular Korean IP The Seven Deadly Sins.
The only product in this month's Top 30 to record more than 100% MoM growth in ad volume was Drive to Deliver,ranked No.30, a casual simulation game centered on car delivery gameplay.
02. Top Pre-registering Games & Creative Selling Points
In the pre-registration rankings this month, Silver Palace by Elementa Games claimed No.1 on the App Store pre-registration chart and No.3 on Google Play. This open-world action RPG recently made its debut at Gamescom, where it received a nomination for Best Mobile Game at this year's show.
Police Chief by VoyagerOne ranked No.2 on the App Store and No.1 on Google Play pre-registration charts. This SLG title centers on police station management, with gameplay mechanics drawing comparisons to Whiteout Survival, while maintaining a lighter and more casual overall tone. The game has already launched across multiple global markets, and its September rollout in South Korea has shown promising early performance.
來種水果吧！ by RiftSky Games also entered the App Store pre-registration Top 10. The title is the Traditional Chinese version of the upcoming game Fruit Days, and its gameplay and marketing positioning closely resemble those of The Cozy Florist, suggesting that Gaotu Games may be attempting to replicate the "grow plants, receive real flowers"product strategy under a different theme.
Crownstone Survival by Tencent entered the Google Play pre-registration chart at No.10. The game is a pixel-art casual SLG that blends simulation management, tower defense, and strategy mechanics into a lightweight, accessible experience—signaling that Tencent is also setting its sights on the currently trending casual SLG segment.
From a creative selling point perspective, the leading pre-registration campaigns this month relied primarily on three directions:
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Visual and genre appeal, particularly for anime-style and open-world titles such as Silver Palace.
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Gameplay familiarity with a fresh theme, as seen in Police Chief and Crownstone Survival, which leverage proven SLG mechanics in new settings.
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Novelty-driven hooks, such as Fruit Days' real-world reward mechanic, which creates a tangible incentive beyond in-game progression.
03. Voodoo Global Advertising Layout
According to AppGrowing, Voodoo maintained its global broad-targeting strategy in September, with a particular concentration on European markets. Its advertising spend was relatively evenly distributed across its key titles, with Castle Busters leading by ad volume at 13.25% of the company's total.
Castle Busters may be the most representative product of Voodoo's ongoing transition from hyper-casual to mid-core games. This tactical turn-based PVP title launched globally in May last year and has since surpassed $15 million in IAP revenue and 20 million cumulative downloads, according to media reports.
AppGrowing data shows that in September, Castle Busters maintained more than 8,000 active ad creatives per day, with an overall stable advertising curve throughout the month.
On the creative side, Voodoo continued to apply its signature hyper-casual creative approach to Castle Busters. Most ad creatives focus on the core mechanic of controlling a castle vehicle to fire missiles at opponents, keeping the content simple, immediately understandable, and visually exaggerated. On top of this foundation, Voodoo layers in trending cultural references or live-action presenter formats to appeal to different audience segments.
Source: AppGrowing
One representative creative uses a split-screen structure, pairing a streamer's live reactions with in-game combat footage to heighten immersion. Key moments of in-game failure are juxtaposed with the streamer's shocked expressions, creating a strong emotional contrast that amplifies the impact of each loss. The combination of real human reactions and animated gameplay visuals reinforces both the entertainment value and the sense of personal involvement.This type of creative framework is particularly effective at attracting younger users who follow gaming livestreams or streaming content, with "unexpected moments + humor" serving as the primary conversion hook.
